Anupama, Tanisha-Ashwini enter second round of India Open

NEW DELHI: HS Prannoy and Priyanshu Rajawat went down fighting but former national champion Anupama Upadhyaya progressed to the second round in a mixed day for home shuttlers at the Indian Open Super 750 badminton tournament here on Wednesday.

Priyanshu put up a valiant fight before succumbing 16-21, 22-20, 13-21 to world number 7 Kodai Naraoka of Japan in a physical battle that lasted an hour and 22 minutes. Meanwhile, Prannoy was defeated by Su Li Yang of Chinese Taipei 21-16, 18-21, 12-21 on the adjacent court.

In women's singles, Anupama defeated compatriot and academy mate Rakshitha Sree 21-17, 21-18 to reach the second round. The two Gopichand Academy trainees, who share a close bond off the court, exchanged friendly banter and mutual admiration after the match.

Tanisha Crasto and Ashwini Ponnappa, who clinched the Guwahati Masters title last month, eased past Kavya Gupta and Radhika Sharma 21-11, 21-12 to also advance to the second round.

The Panda sisters, Rutuparna and Swetaparna, also advanced to the second round with a remarkable come-from-behind win, overcoming Thailand's Phattharin Aiamvareesrisakul and Sarisa Janpeng 7-21, 21-19, 21-14.

In the morning, Aakarshi Kashyap fell to Thailand's Pornpawee Chochuwong 17-21, 13-21 in the opening round.

Malvika Bansod, who has emerged as the second-best Indian after PV Sindhu, showed glimpses of her potential but fell short against world number 4 Han Yue of China.

Malvika, who had lost to Han in straight games at the Malaysia Open last week, was 14-11 up in the opening game. However, soft errors crept in and a cross-court shot from Han on the Indian's forehand allowed her to claw back to 15-15. The battle intensified, and a smash from Han gave her two game points.

Malvika saved both after Han went wide twice, and the Indian earned a game point herself after Han sprayed the shuttle wide. Malvika sealed the game when Han again sent the shuttle wide.

After the break, Han surged to a quick 6-0 lead in the second game. Malvika displayed great resilience, extending the rallies and making her opponent play extra shots. Han’s errors began to accumulate, and Malvika clawed her way back to 16-15.

However, Malvika faltered with a wide shot and a net error, allowing Han to regain control. Han eventually clinched the game 21-16 and the match 21-11 in the decider.

“In just under five days, I’ve managed to take a game and make necessary corrections. So, next time, it will be much better,” Malvika said after the match.

“I need to be both physically and mentally stronger. My father has been taking care of my physical training since I started playing, but I’d like to work with some top fitness trainers because we need to crack this, and reaching this stage without much external help is a big deal,” she added.

World No. 1 and Olympic champion Korea's An Se Young also made a solid start to her campaign, beating Chinese Taipei's Chiu Pin-Chian 22-20 21-15.